Chapel Hill, NC Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)

Section 8-37 sets the town's residential collection schedule: household refuse and garbage kept in refuse receptacles is picked up twice each week when service is provided from the rear yard, or once each week at the curb in those areas of town the town has designated for weekly curbside residential collection. Refuse must be in receptacles that meet § 8-21(m)'s specifications, watertight cans or containers of metal or plastic with tight-fitting lids and handles, holding no less than ten gallons and no more than thirty-two gallons, or in town-provided mobile refuse carts.

Every property owner or occupant is separately required, under § 8-23, to keep enough receptacles or bulk containers on the premises to hold all refuse that accumulates between town collections, and all garbage and household refuse must be bagged watertight and secured at the top before it goes into a receptacle; the town will not pick up from condemned receptacles. Commercial refuse runs on its own schedule under the companion section, § 8-38: retail, wholesale and commercial establishments get twice-weekly pickup from the premises if their refuse is properly contained, with additional collections available under the council's adopted fee schedule.

Violations of the receptacle and collection requirements in §§ 8-23 and 8-38 carry the § 8-44 civil-penalty ladder: a written warning or $25 for a first offense within twelve months, rising to $75, then $150, then $250 up to $500, appealable to the town manager within fifteen days.